Commercial Fever Dreams
MP3 Truffles will be back next week with a massive post, but first this commercial interruption.
One of the strange things about getting older is that you can't tell if some of those childhood memories you had were real, or just excited kids fever dreams. I had this problem a few days ago when I was trying to describe to an old friend about a TV ad I used to see for a board game where the dad yells out "You're a ball buster!" Did I make that up? Well, I can't actually prove the real things that happened to me (did I actually see the boy next door dressed in women's clothes and pretending to hump a telephone pole when I was ten?), but thanks to the interweb, I can now prove my sanity vis a vie those tee vee memories. And so...here is "Ball Buster".
Follow the jump for a few other childhood fever dream commercials whose existence I had to confirm.
Instead of the deep "Oh Yeah", didn't the Kool Aid man used to sing in falsetto? Yes indeed.
Weren't Muffy, Buffy, Bif, and their corporate executive father nearly killed by a huge hand all in the name of Atari fun? Yes, they were.
Didn't Jordache Jeans make kids sings in class? Yes, they did.
Can cowboy monkeys make Sea Monkeys? Yes, they can.
Don't fast food employees sing and dance about cleanliness? Yes. And they still do.
Didn't Mister Belvedere call my little brother on his birthday one year? Yes - he damn well did!
And finally, the terrifying Mr. Yuk is everywhere! Ahhhhhh!
that Jordache one is demented.
Posted by: fatty jubbo | August 08, 2007 at 12:51 PM
There's an UNKLE track in their album Psyence Fiction called "Getting Ahead In The Lucrative Field of Artist Management" that features extended samples from the first commercial.
Posted by: Yun | August 08, 2007 at 03:23 PM
The Ballbuster one was used as a track on the cd Psyence Fiction, by Unkle in 1998. The track was called Getting Ahead In The Lucrative Field Of Artist Management. I had my doubts as to whether or not it was real, it just couldn't be...
Posted by: Chris | August 08, 2007 at 04:05 PM
I'm surprised the green "poison your kid with this" stickers didn't last.
Posted by: poot | August 08, 2007 at 05:04 PM
It sure sounds like the narrator for "Ball Buster" is the same guy as the "AFSCME" outtake."Ball" is said the same way in both. I'd quote the latter, but I don't think there's a full sentence in it that isn't filthy.
Posted by: Eric | August 08, 2007 at 09:30 PM
You can still get Mr. Yuk stickers:
http://www.chp.edu/mryuk/05a_mryuk.php
Posted by: Mark Kruger | August 08, 2007 at 09:34 PM
Thanks for posting these! Our household has currently been in a frenzy trying to find a video of the Ritz Thrift Shop commercial.It aired in the NY tri-state area. Not very surreal but a fond childhood memory.
Posted by: Elisabeth | August 09, 2007 at 08:40 AM
That mum in the Ballbuster ad is hot! What a saucy wink.
Posted by: E-Man | August 09, 2007 at 09:11 AM
It was worth getting out of bed this morning for that Pole Position ad.
Posted by: Joe | August 09, 2007 at 02:05 PM
Who remembers another commercial with chimpanzees, for a lame kid's game called "hawaiian ring toss"? The jingle was the melody for "Ta ra ra boom de ay"
Posted by: Scott Mercer | August 13, 2007 at 08:33 PM
This message is for Elisabeth who is looking for THE RITZ THRIFT SHOP commercial. Check out our website and send me an email
Posted by: Joe | September 21, 2007 at 07:16 PM
Sir;
Where can I see a video of The Ritz Thrift shop commercial that ran in the mid 1970's until 1988?
Please repond and thanks!
Posted by: PERRY | December 22, 2007 at 11:42 AM